One of the major shul-based practices of the month of Elul is listening to the clarion call of the shofar following the recitation of Psalm 27, “L’David Hashem ori v’yeshi” (“A psalm of David: the L-rd is my light and my salvation”). The Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) notes a number of actions that the sounding of the shofar should ideally engender:

Wake up you sleepy ones from your sleep and you who slumber, arise. Inspect your deeds, repent, remember your Creator. Those who forget the truth in the vanities of time and throughout the entire year, and devote their energies to vanity and emptiness which will not benefit or save: Look to your souls. Improve your ways and your deeds, and let every one of you abandon his evil path and thoughts. (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Maada, Hilchot Teshuvah III:4, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)

For the Rambam, the shofar’s blast is multidimensional in nature. Moreover, it existentially challenges us to remember the eternal truths of the Torah, in order that we may devote our energies to meaningful behaviors and eschew “vanity and emptiness which will neither benefit nor save.”

The Rambam wrote in the 12th century, and decried those “who forget the truth in the vanities of time and throughout the entire year…” If this was a common problem during his historical period, it is exponentially the case in our pleasure-seeking, digitally-focused culture that caters to a public with an unquenchable thirst for that which is scandalous and demeaning. What accounts for this endless attraction to the forbidden? I believe the Torah provides us with a strong foundation for answering this question.

The first phrase in our Torah portion, “Ki tetze l’milchamah al oivecha” (“When you go to war against your enemy”), precedes the concluding words: “the L-rd, your G-d, will deliver him [your enemy] into your hands, and you [will] take his captives.” (Translation, with my emendations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, Sefer Devarim 21:10) The Chasidic Masters universally understand the expression, “your enemy,” as referring to the yetzer hara (the evil inclination). Not too surprisingly, the first rebbe to suggest this interpretation was none other than the founder of Chassidism, the holy Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known to the world as the Baal Shem Tov.

The Baal Shem Tov notes that even though the verse is speaking about going to war, which definitionally necessitates a massive public undertaking, it is nonetheless written in the singular construct (lashonyachid). He suggests that this is the case, since “every member of the Jewish people has no greater enemy than the evil inclination.” (This, and the following quotations, are found in Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Greenberg’s Itturei Torah, volume VI, page 129; translations my own). The Baal Shem Tov continues his analysis and states, “If you go to war against him (i.e. the yetzer hara),” then the Torah promises, and well nigh guarantees, that “the L-rd, your G-d, will deliver him into your hands.” Perhaps most powerfully, he interprets the expression, “and you take his captives,” as a further assurance that “even the powers of the evil inclination will be able to be harnessed in the service of Hashem.”

Without a doubt, the yetzer hara is the most cunning and corrupting influence in our lives. It intuitively knows “what buttons to push” to lead us away from the Torah and Hashem, and coerce us into doing its bidding. Clearly, we must wage an unceasing war against it, for as the Baal Shem Tov said, we have “no greater enemy...”

The Mishnaic sage Ben Zoma taught us that it is possible to be a spiritual hero and overcome even our strongest yetzer hara-infused desires, as is cited in Pirkei Avot IV:1:

Who is strong? One who overpowers his [evil] inclination. As is it is stated: “One who is slow to anger is better than a mighty man, and one who rules over his spirit [is better] than one who conquers a city.” (Sefer Mishle 16:32, translation, Chabad.org)

With the Almighty’s help, and our most fervent desires, may we hearken to the shofar’s call and soundly reject the negative influences of our time. In this way, may we harness “even the powers of the evil inclination…in the service of Hashem.” V’chane yihi ratzon.

They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

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The Torah employs the phrase, “Ki tetze l’milchamah al oivecha” (“When you go forth to war against your enemy”) two times in Sefer Devarim. The first instance appears in our parasha (20:1), and the second in Parashat Ki Tetze (21:10). Rashi (1040-1105), on our parasha, has a very thought-provoking comment on the words “al oivecha:” “Let them be in your eyes as enemies; have no pity on them, for they will have no pity upon you.” This gloss is midrashically-inspired, and its roots are specifically found in Midrash Tanchuma, Sefer Devarim 15. Yet, the original language of the Midrashic passage does not contain Rashi’s formulation, “Let them be in your eyes as enemies,” and writes, instead, “Go forth against them as if they are your enemies” (“Tz’u aleihem k’oiveim”). Why does Rashi change the Midrash’s language, adding the words, “in your eyes?” After all, it seems that whenever soldiers go to war, they definitionally view the combatants of the opposing army as their enemies. What, then, is Rashi subtly teaching us?

I believe we can answer our questions on Rashi’s elucidation of “al oivecha” in Sefer Devarim by viewing it in the light of another one of his glosses, this time from Sefer Shemot. In the course of his analysis of the pasuk (verse) from the Shirah (the Song of Praise), “The L-rd (Hashem) is a Master of war; the L-rd (Hashem) is His Name” (15:3), Rashi bases himself upon the Mechilta and suggests the following explanation of the latter half of the pasuk:

The L-rd (Hashem), [denoting the Divine Standard of Mercy,] is His Name - Even when He wages war and takes vengeance upon His enemies, He maintains His behavior of having mercy on His creatures and nourishing all those who enter the world... (Translation with my emendations)

G-d is ever merciful – even when He wages war against His enemies. As His uniquely chosen people, we in turn, through the mitzvah of imitatio Dei, have the obligation to model ourselves, both in our essence and actions, after Hashem’s ways. This principle is powerfully presented in a celebrated passage in Talmud Bavli that highlights the Almighty’s acts of rachmanut (mercy) that we are obligated to make our own:

Just as Hashem clothed the naked [in the case of Adam and Chava]… so, too, should you clothe the naked. Just as Hashem visited the sick [in the case of Avraham after his brit milah]… so, too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He comforted the mourners [in the case of Yitzhak after Avraham’s passing]… so, too, should you comfort the mourners. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He buried the dead [in the case of Moshe]… so, too, should you bury the dead. (Sotah 14a, translation and brackets my own)

This Talmudic section is the basis of one of the Rambam’s (Maimonides, 1135-1204) famous halachic rulings that helps establish the fundamental parameters of Jewish communal living:

It is a positive commandment of Rabbinic origin to visit the sick, comfort mourners, to prepare for a funeral, prepare a bride, accompany guests, attend to all the needs of a burial, carry a corpse on one’s shoulders, walk before the bier, mourn, dig a grave, and bury the dead, and also to bring joy to a bride and groom and help them in all their needs. These are deeds of kindness that one carries out with his person that have no limit. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avel 14:1, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)

Rachmanut thereby emerges as a quintessential aspect of the Jewish persona, since in acting mercifully we are imitating our Creator’s actions. This idea is so pronounced that the Talmud Bavli in Yevamot 79a states that there are three markers for someone who claims to be a member of our people, namely, “harachamim, v’habyeshanin, v’gomlai chasadim” (“they are the merciful, modest ones and practitioners of loving-kindness”). As such, it is literally Jewish nature to act in a merciful manner toward all whom we encounter.

In my estimation, we can now readily understand Rashi’s earlier comment, “in your eyes.” He forcefully emphasized that those with whom we go to war must be viewed as absolute enemies, even though this very notion is antithetical to our very being and our humanitarian approach to the people of the world. In modern times, Prime Minister Golda Meir (1898-1978) gave this idea strong voice when she declared in her oral autobiography: “When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons.” (A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography, 1973, edited by Marie Syrkin, p. 242)

May we be zocheh (merit) to witness the imminent coming of the Mashiach (Messiah) and the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision: “And he shall judge between the nations and reprove many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (II:4, translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) V’chane yihi ratzon.

They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com.

In broad term terms, our parasha divides meat for consumption into two separate and distinct categories, b’sar korban (sacrificial meat) and b’sar ta’aveh (chulin, or non-sacrificial meat). The first group constitutes the subject matter of Sefer Devarim 12:11-19 and 26-27, while the latter is found in 12:20-25. In the midst of its presentation of b’sar ta’aveh, the Torah teaches us that it is forbidden to consume blood:

However, be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul; and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh. You shall not eat it, you shall spill it on the ground, like water. You shall not eat it, in order that it be good for you, and for your children after you, when you do what is proper in the eyes of the L-rd. (Sefer Devarim 12:23-25, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)

These verses present us with a significant exegetical problem. Why does the Torah so powerfully emphasize, “However, be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul…” Why do we need such “encouragement” to refrain from eating blood? After all, most people surely would agree that the very thought of eating blood is disgusting in the extreme. Rabbi Shimon bar Rabi was bothered by this problem, as well, in his analysis of this problem in Mishnah Makkot III:15:

Rabbi Shimon bar Rabi said: “Behold the Torah states: ‘However, be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul…’ When it comes to [the eating of] blood wherein one’s very being is revolted [by such a thought], [nonetheless,] one who refrains from [eating it] will receive a reward, [so, too, in the case of] stealing and illicit relations, wherein one’s innermost being is desirous thereof - and he lusts after them – one who separates himself from them will all the more so [receive reward]. [Moreover, not only] will he merit [reward, but so, too, will] his future generations, and all generations that will come from him until the end of time.” (Translation my own)

Rabbi Shimon bar Rabi is clearly teaching us that we must be sensitive to the Torah’s unusual phraseology, and that beyond a shadow of a doubt, eating blood is a revolting and abnormal act. Yet, it is no less true that if we refrain from eating blood because it is Hashem’s will, rather than because we are naturally repulsed, we will receive a tremendous reward that will protect our children and our children’s children throughout all generations to come.

If we reexamine Rabbi Shimon bar Rabi’s statement a bit more closely, it appears that he is actually revealing a fundamental element of Torah observance, and, by extension, an essential aspect of our relationship with Hashem. He is instructing us that our explanations of the mitzvot must never be viewed as the reasons why we perform them. In other words, regardless as to what kind of cognitive and emotional excitement these analyses may generate, we must ever be focused upon one basic and overriding truth: We observe the mitzvot solely because G-d commanded us to do so. In other words, one of our basic obligations as Jews is to view the entire Torah and its corpus of laws in its proper light. This means that whether or not we understand a mitzvah, or believe we have discovered its rationale, its absolute demand upon us, its unquestionable claim upon our being, is derived from the Voice that eternally issues forth from Mount Sinai.

On the most basic level, therefore, we must always recognize that there is a tripartite process that forms the background of each and every mitzvah: Hashem as the metzaveh (the Commander), the mitzvah (the commandment), and man as the metzuveh (the commanded). Each time we fulfill a Torah precept, we demonstrate our loyalty to our Creator and His holy Torah. Moreover, we declare to all mankind that the relationship forged with our forebears continues to flourish until our own moment. When we fulfill the mitzvot, we are joyfully proclaiming: “Hashem Hu HaElokim.” (“Hashem is our G-d and Master,” Sefer Devarim IV:35)

Given these ideas, I believe we have found an answer to the question, “How should we approach the mitzvot?” We need to address them with a sense of awe and humility, coupled with an ever-present recognition that we are fulfilling G-d’s will. This means that while the cognitive gesture surely enhances our appreciation and understanding of the mitzvot, it is not the rationale for their fulfillment. Humility, even in the case of the mitzvot, must ever be our watchword. This crucial concept was given powerful voice by Michah the prophet so very long ago: “O man, what is good, and what the L-rd demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d.” (VI:8) With His loving help may this be so. V’chane yihi ratzon.

They may also be found on YUTorah.orgusing the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com.